News

AFI - January 2018

Long Island Pulse - October 2017

The old adage “You are what you eat” actually starts in the soil. Full of organic matter and the nutrients like omega-3, beta-carotene and fatty acids, it is the root of good food. This isn’t lost on East End businesses, many of which practice sustainable farming to keep the soil and environment healthy. These practices ensure that when the farm moves to a person’s table, the food is as safe as it is delicious. Step behind the fence at 8 Hands Farm, Bedell Cellars and the Amagansett Food Institute.

The East Hampton Star - June 2017

The Amagansett Food Institute will hold the first in a series of business meet-ups for small food producers Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the headquarters of Plain-T, a purveyor of boutique teas, at 87 Powell Avenue in Southampton.

27 East - June 2017

The Amagansett Food Institute will host the first in a series of small food business meet-up events, which aim to provide small food producers networking opportunities, with “Crowdfunding for Small Food Business” on Thursday, June 22, at Plain-T in Southampton Village.

Innovate LI - February 2017

In case it somehow escaped your attention, today is CSA Day, a quasi-holiday/day of observance started in 2014 by Small Farm Central, a Pittsburgh-based tech firm that creates software and other digital tools for agricultural entrepreneurs.

Hamptons Online - August 2016

The Amagansett Food Institute (AFI) and the Southampton Historical Museum are pairing up this August to host what will surely be one of the most delicious events of the summer! On Thursday, August 25th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the two local staples will be presenting a special "Lost Foods, New Foods: Artisan Cuisine & Wines on the South Fork" event at the Sayre Barn at the Rogers Mansion in Southampton.

Sag Harbor Express - August 2016

Sometimes to find something new and fresh, you need to look back to something old and forgotten. That’s the way it’s been with the local agriculture, which has been as alive on the East End as it ever has been. With young farmers and food purveyors flooding the farmers’ markets from Riverhead to Montauk, the agricultural practices that first sustained the Hamptons are experiencing a rebirth.

27 East - August 2016

In recent years, the East End has seen a resurgence in the growth and production of crops and foods that were historically made here, a fact that the Southampton Historical Museum and the Amagansett Food Institute will celebrate at the inaugural Lost Foods, New Foods benefit on Thursday, August 25.

Newsday - August 2016

At the Southampton fundraiser “Lost Foods, New Foods,” the Amagansett Food Institute is showcasing the bounty and ingenuity of Long Island’s East End. The elegant grounds of the Southampton Historical Museum will be the setting for a tasting of local foods and wines on Thursday, Aug. 25, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Edible East End - August 2016

Agricultural history meets agricultural future at a deep and delicious event to benefit The Amagansett Food Institute (AFI) and the Southampton Historical Museum. Lost Foods, New Foods: Artisan Cuisine & Wines on the South Fork, taking place on Thursday, August 25 from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Sayre Barn of the museum, will give attendees the opportunity to support local agriculture, meet some of the new chefs and food producers coming up in the neighborhood, and to go deep, discovering traditional foods and ingredients that had all but disappeared until recently.

Hamptons Online - May 2016

Over Memorial Day weekend, the Amagansett Food Institute will host the Amagansett Farmers Market seasonal opening, featuring live music, tastings, and local food for purchase. The Market, which showcases locally grown produce prepared by local and regional providers, will debut on Friday, May 27th at 7 a.m.

East Hampton Patch - May 2016

There's nothing that signifies the start of summer more than the opening of farmers' markets on the East End, bursting with abundance and fresh produce. The Amagansett Farmers' Market, located at 367 Main Street in Amagansett, is set for its seasonal opening on May 27 through May 30, when the market will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The East Hampton Star - May 2016

The Beacon restaurant in Sag Harbor opened yesterday for the 2016 season. Dinner is being served starting at 6 p.m., Wednesdays through Mondays. The chef, Sam McCleland, will be adding new seasonal dishes to the tried-and-true menu choices.

27 East - May 2016

Last week Suffolk County inmates donning orange jumpsuits worked to clean and restore the Amagansett Farmer’s Market as armed correction officers looked on. These work crews are part of the county’s Vocational Training Program, developed about four years ago by Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco, which provides communities with labor through trained, prescreened, low security inmates.

Sag Harbor Express Harvest Magazine - October 2015

Sustainable East End Podcast - September 2015

Here are programs produced byWPKN’s East End Long Island news and public affairs volunteers. WPKN 89.5 Bridgeport and WPKM 88.7 Montauk are listener supported radio stations with a volunteer staff. see wpkn.org

27 East - August 2015

There was a steady hum of enthusiasm Saturday morning, as residents and vacationers milled about the newly opened Amagansett Farmers Market. Bikes were perched against the low green building, pets led their dog owners around and families settled in the outside sitting area, enjoying their food in the open air.While many recalled the bygone years when the farmers market was packed, it was early in the morning—and the season—for any speculation as to the success of a venture that had started only that morning.

Dan's Papers - August 2015

A crucial pit stop on the road to Montauk has returned! For the rest of the summer season, residents and visitors can look forward to a convenient source of fresh and local produce, because the Amagansett Farmers Market is back. After a brief closure resulting from the expiration of the previous tenant’s lease, The Amagansett Food Institute (AFI) reopened the Market on Saturday, August 1.

The East Hampton Star - August 2015

Customers expecting overflowing bins of fresh produce or deli cases bursting with prepared foods might be confused upon entering the new Amagansett Farmers Market, which the Amagansett Food Institute reopened on Aug. 1. The selection is small compared to what was offered by previous proprietors. Take a closer look, though, and you’ll notice that almost everything in the market, save the olive oil, is grown or produced on Long Island or in New York State, some of it at the institute’s own business-incubator kitchen at Stony Brook Southampton, called South Fork Kitchens.

Edible East End - August 2015

The Amagansett Farmers Market, the half-century old farm stand at the east end of Amagansett’s Main Street, reopened August 1. Operated for the last few years by Eli Zabar, the market will now operated by the nonprofit Amagansett Farm Institute, whose mission to support the local food economy means the products on the shelves couldn’t be more mouth-watering and consciously curated. There’s a bevy of Hudson Valley yogurts, Brooklyn pasta, Empire State cheeses, Montauk lemonade and more East End fruits and vegetables than you can shake a spoon at. We’ve put together a little list of pantry stuffers and look forward to see what they add and change with the seasons. And we encourage you to get there as soon as you can.

Edible East End - July 2015

According to a Monday press release, the Amagansett Food Institute announced it signed a lease with the Peconic Land Trust to operate the Amagansett Farmers Market, at 367 Main Street in Amagansett, with a planned opening on August 1.

The East Hampton Star - July 2015

Several months after a new tenant for the Amagansett Farmers Market was expected to be named, the Peconic Land Trust and the Amagansett Food Institute, a nonprofit organization of farmers and food producers, announced on Monday that the latter has signed a lease to operate the market. The institute plans an Aug. 1 opening of the longtime landmark on the hamlet's Main Street.

Sag Harbor Online - July 2015

On Monday, the Amagansett Food Institute (AFI) announced it has signed a lease with The Peconic Land Trust to operate the iconic Amagansett Farmers’ Market on Main Street in Amagansett. The Institute said it would open the facility on August 1.

Hamptons.com - July 2015

"We are thrilled to be able to showcase the best of East End produce and food products and look forward to working with the community to bring more awareness of local food and food related issues," expressed Kathleen Masters, Executive Director of the Amagansett Food Institute.

The Sag Harbor Express - June 2015

In case you haven’t noticed, the food industry is booming — not just here, but everywhere. Nationally, cooking shows are all the rage as are locally sourced, fresh ingredients. Meanwhile, chefs (both professional and amateur) are developing imaginative new ways to use never before heard of products in their dishes.

The East Hampton Star - May 2015

If the name Geoffrey Drummond is not familiar, it should be. For years, the East Hampton-based producer and director has provided armchair epicureans the vicarious thrill of watching others perform miraculous feats in the kitchen. From his early work on PBS, first with Jacques Pepin and then with Julia Child, to his latest Emmy-winning series with Eric Ripert, he has channeled his appreciation of all things culinary to introduce Americans to great chefs the world over.

The East Hampton Star - November 2014

A few weeks ago a friend asked if I would like to sample some of the best, freshest, cheapest food available, in other words, one of the best-kept secrets on the East End. How is it I didn’t know of this special place, this little jewel of a cafe, open five days a week for lunch? One reason could be that it is essentially a Russian nesting doll.

Stirring the Pot with Stefanie Sacks - July 2014

Amagansett Food Institute (AFI), whose mission is to support, promote, and advocate for the farmers, vintners, fishermen, and other food producers and providers on the East End of Long Island officially has a nest. Now located on the Southampton campus of Stonybrook University, AFI’s full service commercial kitchen, called Southfork Kitchens, is the home to Carissa’s Breads, Dock to Dish, Miss Lady Root Beer among many others. The Institute’s vision is to create a community where all farms and food businesses are thriving. Their work goes beyond the kitchen into advocacy, a farm to pantry program, a farmer training collaborative and more. Executive Director Kathleen Masters and AFI's Kitchen Manager Carissa Waechter will join the show to enlighten us about this incredible collaborative, the work they are doing and how you can get involved.

Edible Low Summer Issue - June 2014

The smell of baking bread wafts over gleaming steel countertops in the spacious South Fork Kitchens, a new commercial venture open to local food producers and businesses at the Southampton campus of Stony Brook University. Carissa Waechter of Carissa’s Breads has several flour-dusted loaves in the oven, trying out the facilities before they welcome businesses and farmers who have eagerly signed up to use the space.

The Sag Harbor Express - April 2014

Imagine a farmer searching for ways to get the most out of a bumper crop of strawberries this June. Besides selling them by the quart, along with every other farmer whose crop has just come in, he might want to try his hand at making jam to sell at the farmers market later in the season. The same might be true of a cook who wants to use local tomatoes to sell the sauce her friends have been raving about for years.

The Sag Harbor Express - August 2013

The Amagansett Food Institute (AFI) is a not-for-profit that supports farmers and food producers on the East End. With more than twenty members from local farms, beverage producers, bakeries and salt mongers, AFI is constantly looking for new ways to contribute to a thriving local food economy. They have helped in creating farm apprenticeships, education initiatives, and are currently working on establishing a commercial kitchen incubator locally. But one recent triumph came when AFI partnered up with Long Island Cares to close a gap in the food system, bringing fresh local produce to people who really need it.